Lost Time
by Satanic Mechanic
Summary: After a spell gone wrong, Lloyd is reverted back to his childhood form. Catastrophe? Perhaps. Or is it the perfect opportunity for Kratos to make up for 'lost time?
1. chapter 1

"Professor…you've been looking in that mirror for almost an hour," Lloyd finally decided to comment. He'd been sitting in a nearby chair whistling quietly to himself, watching the woman fret over her appearance for quite some time now. If it were Zelos, he wouldn't even have paid attention, but the professor was not someone to typically be so vain. "Um, hello? Are you alright?" He got up and made his way over to the large mirror when he received no response, growing slightly worried.

"Don't you see that?!" Raine grabbed the brunette's head and pulled it in front of the mirror once he was in yanking range but did not take her eyes off her own reflection.

"I don't see anything…" Lloyd winced slightly at the hand that was gripping his hair as he stared at their reflection in confusion.

"Grey hairs!" Raine sighed, running a hand through the locks lightly. "I can't believe this is happening to me already. Of course, it could have to do with stress."

"Um, how can you even tell? I mean, your hair is white already so…" Lloyd was cut off he tired to dodge the smack to the back of the head, not succeeding.

"Are those…wrinkles around my eyes?" Raine turned her attention back towards the mirror and frowned as she picked out more and more things to worry about.

"God…girls are so weird," Lloyd sighed and made his way over to the couch where Genis was sitting, rubbing the back of his wounded head slightly. Glancing over to his friend, who had his nose buried in a book, he realized he was being ignored and thus, not going to receive any sympathy. Not that he usually received any from Genis. Sometimes he wondered why they were even friends at all. "So! What're you reading?

"History text book. Need to study." Was the murmured, almost robotic response. The boy had been studying at the academy in the rebuilt city of Palmacosta now that himself and his sister had ceased their traveling. They had settled down in the city a few months ago, and Lloyd had decided to crash with them for a bit.

"What kind of history?"

"Lloyd, can't you go take a walk or something?" Genis frowned as he chewed on the tip of his pencil, glaring down and the book in his arms.

"That's a really mean thing to say to your bestest friend in the whole wide world!" Lloyd grinned and poked the boy in the side, hoping to get some reaction. When he received none, he started bouncing on the couch restlessly. "Come on man…I'm sooo bored," he tired, in his most pleading voice.

"You're always bored!" Genis sighed, looking up at his friend for the first time all evening. He was like one of those puppies that wouldn't leave you alone until you pet them or gave them a snack.

"I can't help that, blame it on the ADD."

"You don't have ADD, that's just an excuse."

"Sure I do! I am totally attention, uh, deaf…?"

"Deficit."

"Yeah, I'm totally loaded with attention deficitness." Genis sighed and turned back to his work, trying to ignore the dramatic sighs and huffs to his left. After a few moments of treasured silence, Genis picked his head back up again as he heard someone come through the front door. "Look, Kratos is home, go bother him."

"Hey!" Lloyd jumped up in a quick, overly enthusiastic manner, "Welcome home!"

"Hn." The man turned to remove his gloves, which were stained with dirt and some other indistinguishable materials. He dropped his shield and propped the sword carefully against a wall, sighing as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"How was your day?"

"Fine." Lloyd raised an eyebrow at the clipped response, sensing that the older man was definitely not in a good mood, and that bothering him was probably not the most rational thing to be doing right now. However, Lloyd was not usually one to be associated with rational thinking.

"Were there lots of monsters?" he questioned again, receiving a nod. The area around the town had been a hotspot for them lately, and the group was trying their best to get rid of them, and ensure the safety of the people who lived there. Even after the two worlds had been restored, there was still a few monsters roaming about. "You should have let me come with you." Kratos sighed and offered him the slightest of smiles.

"It was not needed, I was fine on my own. Besides, you need a break, you've been working yourself very hard trying to harvest all the exspheres."

"Alright, whatever you say," Lloyd shrugged, knowing that there was really no point in trying to change the other man's mind since he could be quite stubborn. Especially when he was trying to look out for Lloyd.

"How is Colette doing?" Kratos changed the subject.

"Not bad. I went to go visit her today at the clinic, and she seemed more like herself." The girl had picked up a nasty virus during one of their monster hunting journeys and didn't say anything to anyone until she eventually collapsed of exhaustion, apologizing profusely the whole time.

"That's good."

"Yeah, they said she should be able to come home soon."

"Let's hope so."

"So…do you wanna…go train with me or something? I'm itching to get out of the house."

"I'm sorry," Kratos offered an apologetic smile, "I'm just very tired."

"Oh…it's okay. I'm sure I'll find something to do." Lloyd replied, a bit disappointed, but he was sure there was something he else could do to amuse himself. If not, there was always that wall on the other side of the room that he hadn't finished staring at yet.

XxX

"Mmm…that smells good." Lloyd stretched out on the sofa he was currently lounging on and turned his head toward the kitchen, where Genis was preparing dinner. "Want some help in there?"

"Nah…that's okay." Genis added a pinch of some mystery herb and dusted off his hands a few seconds later in a satisfaction. "Hm, actually, now that you mention it, could you go get Raine and tell her dinner is almost ready?"

"Yeah!" Lloyd jumped off the couch, eager to stretch out his legs again. "Where did she disappear to anyway?"

"She's been down in the basement all day, mumbling to herself and cackling like a maniac," Genis rolled his eyes and turned to where Lloyd was standing, a sudden fear-struck look on his face. "I'm sure it's just some new 'fascinating' research product of hers, don't wet yourself just yet," the boy giggled at the embarrassed look on his friend's face.

"You really can be mean when you want to, you know? Making me check on your demented sister, and insulting my bowl control at the same time."

"Oh shut up. It's only cause I like you."

"Yeah, yeah…hate to see what you do to people you hate."

Lloyd wandered off in the direction of the basement, gripping the handle cautiously. "Um…Professor, you in there? Dinner is almost ready." No response, Lloyd sighed as he realized he was now going to have to enter the domain of the beast. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and made his way down the stairs to the lab. "Raine?" he peeked sheepishly around the corner, seeing the woman hunched over a table with various open books and materials.

"Lloyd? What are you doing down here?" Raine looked over her shoulder to see the brunette, whom had finally gained enough courage to step a few feet closer to her.

"Genis wanted me to tell you that dinner is almost ready."

"Oh, thank you. I'm almost finished with this, just give me a minute," she replied, dropping something into the mixture she was currently creating.

"What is that?" Lloyd's curiosity got the best of him, and he walked over to the table, wondering what the strange pinkish liquid was.

"Well, I've done some research and I've managed to discover a recipe for an age restorative potion."

"You're still on that?" Lloyd groaned, "You're hardly that much older than me, you look fine!" he threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm afraid one's self is always their worst critic." Raine covered the top of the glass container and gave it a good shake, grinning as she looked at her warped reflection in the curved glass surface. "Perfect. I'll just go get a glass…" The woman turned only to walk right into something, or someone, who was right behind her. "Lloyd, I'm sorry!" she groaned and picked herself up from the floor, glancing at her right hand to find only the top of the glass bottle there. The rest of it had shattered on the ground along with the precious liquid it contained.

She sighed as she realized all her work had gone to waste. "Looks like it's back to the drawing board. Come on Lloyd, let's go upstairs," she glanced around her, only to find the room devoid of anyone but herself. "Lloyd?" She looked down at her feet, at the magic pink puddle on the floor, and next to it, a pile of Lloyd's clothes, but no Lloyd. "Lloyd?!"


	2. chapter 2

"Oh no…what have I done?" Raine paled and stood perfectly still, frozen in shock. She hated herself for being so careless, and now Lloyd was…what was Lloyd? He couldn't be gone, no, not after all this time. Not after she'd seen him fight so many battles, and survive so many insane situations on sometimes nothing more than just pure dumb luck. It just couldn't be happening. So lost in her own turmoil, Raine almost didn't hear the faint noise at her feet until she dared a quick look downwards. Had that pile of clothes just moved?

"Ah!" She jumped black slightly as she watched the red garment twitch a few times before stilling once more. Grabbing a broom, she slowly approached the spot once more and gave it a hesitant poke. She almost jumped out of her skin as she heard a small cry.

"What in the world?" Raine bent over the pile, debating what to do next. That's when she noticed something rather peculiar, a tiny little hand sticking out from under the material. Either that potion had caused Lloyd's clothes to become possessed and start sprouting random limbs or…

"Oh my God!" the woman gasped out, half out of pure shock and half out of mingled relief.

XxX

"Took you long enough. Dinner is getting cold," Genis scolded as he saw his sister emerge from the basement, carrying a bundle of something in her arm and looking uneasy. "Um, is everything alright? What's that?" the boy gestured to the bundle in her arms, to which to woman shifted the weight of her burden, glancing around the room shiftily.

"It's…I…" Raine faltered, racking her brain for a possible explanation that wouldn't send the two men in front of her into comas. Kratos, whom had been waiting patiently for Raine and Lloyd to arrive before eating, was even getting curious now. Knowing that sort of unsure hesitation in wording was not a trait typically associated with the professor caused him to worry as well.

"Is something the matter? Where's Lloyd?" He waited for a response. Genis was also now fixed on his sister, and you could practically cut the anticipation in the room with a knife.

"He's…here, take this." Raine took that moment to shove the bundle in Kratos's face, holding it away as if it were a ticking time bomb ready to explode.

"Excuse me?" Kratos titled his head in confusion, but accepted the offer nonetheless, noting the slight warmth emitting from the object. He was startled when he noticed something squirming on his lap and looked up at Raine for some sort of clue, but the woman only turned her head to the side guilty. Finally deciding to take investigation in to his own hands, he began unwrapping the material. Genis leaned over to the point of almost falling out of his chair to get a good view. Kratos gasped as tousled brown locks were reveled plus a pair of innocent brown eyes blinking up at him a second later.

"Holy…s-" Genis winced at the disapproving look from his sister due to the near curse, "…socks," he finished, silence reigning supreme after that. Kratos just stared down at the child in his arms, his mind rapidly approaching a nervous breakdown. He had seen this child before, he knew that, but that was a very long time ago. An entire lifetime ago. That face brought up a whole torrent of emotions he though he had buried long before, as well as more than a few painful memories.

"Explain…this." Kratos spoke slowly, harshly, not taking his eyes off the boy in his lap as he did so. Raine visibly winced at the tone of voice, having heard it before, but never having the very unpleasant experience of it being aimed at her.

"I was working on an age restorative potion when Lloyd came to check on me. When we were getting ready to leave, I tripped and spilled the potion on him," Raine bit her lip as she trailed off, knowing that the rest was fairly self-explanatory. "Perhaps I made it just a tad too strong."

"Ya think?" Genis squeaked out, grateful for the fact that Raine was too upset and too far away to thwack him just yet. Besides, no one was really paying attention to him anyway. Kratos has finally gotten enough hold on himself to look up at Raine, and the two adults were currently having a tense staring contest. Raine was starting to become very uncomfortable with that unwavering gaze, and when Kratos still didn't see fit to have any kind of response she continued.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can find something that can reverse the effect, I'll just have to do some more research. Tomorrow, I'll head to Sybak."

"Fine."

"Fine?" Raine let relief as well as confusion wash over her, not really expecting the man whose son she had just shrunk to be so accepting.

"Fine. You made a quite uncharacteristically foolish mistake, and I will allow you the chance to make amends."

"Oh…of, of course. I trust that you'll be taking care of him for the time being?"

"I don't know if that's entirely fair. It was your mistake after all."

"Well, it's only appropriate," Raine spoke carefully. The blood relationship between Lloyd and Kratos was a topic that most in the group typically avoided, including the two men themselves. It was a painful wound for the older man, and for Lloyd, something he probably just wasn't ready to deal with yet.

"I understand that but…"

"Besides, if you want me to get him back to normal, I probably won't have all that much time to look after him."

"I'll help!!" Genis perked up and got up from his seat at the table, "As a matter of fact, I think we have some extra carrots. I'll just mash them up to make some food for him!" Genis began to do just that, whistling happily to himself the whole time. "This'll be so much fun!"

"Genis, we're not playing house," Raine sighed. "This is serious."

"I know! I just want to do my part to make this easier for Kratos."

"I appreciate it…" Kratos trailed off as he again dared a look at the boy in his lap, who had now fallen fast asleep once more. Disregarding the initial shock, there was something growing in Kratos that almost felt like real happiness. But it didn't feel right having that happiness now, not without Anna around to share it.

Really, he was going to need all the help he could get.

XxX

It was just as Kratos finished tucking in his son that he heard a faint knock on the door. The boy had been fast asleep all night, probably due to the fact that his body was exhausted from the sudden age change. Or at least, that's the reason Kratos had come up with. It could be just Lloyd's typically laziness.

"Sorry to bother you." Raine spoke as the door was opened to her, peeking over Kratos' shoulder as she did. "He's still asleep?"

"Yes." Kratos stepped back in order to make room for the woman to come inside, wondering what she could want to talk to him about after she had been practically avoiding him all day.

"Good, I want to talk to you." The woman placed a few bags on the half of the bed that the sleeping boy wasn't occupying. "I went out and got you some supplies to make this easier while I'm gone."

"Supplies?" Kratos raised an eyebrow at the various items Raine began taking out of the bags. Looked like some diapers, toys, and a large amount of clothes.

"I figure these will fit, he looks to be a little over a year old, wouldn't you say?" Raine held up a sleeping outfit with little cartoon sheep decorating it.

"I suppose."

"Oh, and look at this one!" she beamed and held up a little jacket, complete with sewed on mittens.

"It's not even winter," Kratos replied flatly.

"I know, but they had such a great sale. Oh wait, this is the best one…" Raine grinned as she pulled out a sweater with a hood on it, complete with bunny ears.

"I think you're getting just a little too excited over this." Kratos smiled in bizarre fascination as Raine began demonstrating the motions of a bouncing bunny with the outfit.

"Aren't you excited?" the woman countered.

"I can hardly contain myself." Raine sighed and began folding back up the clothes.

"I'll just leave these here for you. I need to go pack."

"You do that."

"I…" Raine stopped short before the door, "I really am sorry about this."

"It's okay."

"Really?" Raine asked, and Kratos turned to take a glance at the boy sleeping in his bed, the one whose mother always said had his eyes.

"Really." Kratos replied, not taking his eyes off the boy on the bed. Perhaps things could change this time, if he didn't make another mistake.

"Ok, good night." The woman politely made her exit, and Kratos sighed and sat down at the edge of the bed and prayed to whatever gods were up there that he would be able to salvage some sort of sleep tonight. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.


	3. chapter 3

Kratos groaned and rolled over as the sunlight streaming through the window woke him. He had only gotten a few hours of restless sleep, and kept waking up to make sure Lloyd was still alive and breathing. Who knew what else that potion Raine had spilled on him could have done? They we're lucky it didn't kill him if the toxic ingredients Kratos had found in the basement were any clue.

That really wasn't something he should be worrying about now, he realized. What he should be doing is focusing on the task ahead. For instance…where was Lloyd? Kratos panicked as he realized the boy wasn't lying by his side like he was before. Kratos searched the bed sheets to make sure the boy wasn't buried under any of them, but found nothing.

"Genis!" Kratos appeared at the bottom of the staircase, startling the boy who was in the living room. "Have you seen Lloyd?"

"Relax he's right here but…" Genis started, looking down at his side before realizing that the boy had already disappeared once more. "He's rather hyper, I can't get him to stay still!" Kratos almost didn't realize what the blur that ran past him was until it crashed straight into a wall, falling to the floor and whimpering slightly.

"Lloyd!" Kratos winced, hoping the boy hadn't given himself a concussion, before running over to his side. Before he could pick the boy up to console him, Lloyd had already had bounced back up with vigor and returned to his routine of running around the house in maddening circles.

"He's been doing this all morning," Genis sighed as he watched Lloyd jump over Noishe, who was curled up at the foot of the couch, perking his head up to whimper slightly at the strange behavior going on around him. "And is it just me, or does he look older than he did yesterday?

"Yes…I think you're right." Kratos had time to observe after watching the boy carefully, almost getting tired from just looking at him. He definitely wasn't at an age to be running around when he was first transformed. Perhaps the effects would wear off over time, and he would grow to his normal age within awhile? He'd have to inform Raine about this later. "At least he seems to be healthy."

"At the very least. I'll watch him for a little longer, maybe you should go back upstairs and…um…" Genis blushed slightly and looked away as he pulled some of his schoolbooks into his bag.

"Is there something wrong?"

"You should get dressed." Genis finished and Kratos looked down to realize he was only wearing his undergarments. He had run out of his room so fast that he hadn't even thought about it.

"I suppose I should." Kratos spoke smoothly, as if this was all planned. "I should probably try and get him into something as well," the man sighed as he watched his son run around the room in only a diaper, knocking down various things as he went. Finally getting a hold on the squirming boy, he snatched him up and headed back upstairs.

"Lloyd, settle down." Kratos spoke firmly as he placed the boy on the bed, frowning at the protesting whines the boy was admitting. He reached into the bag to pull out some of the clothes Raine had bought, hoping that they'd still fit even with the toddler's sudden growth spurt. It took a bit of a struggle to get the boy's pants on, and Kratos had to pull him out from under the bed before could force the shirt on as well. Kratos crossed his arms and surveyed his work. Not so bad. Lloyd was alternating from blinking up at the man from his current position on the bed to looking down at his attire in confusion.

"Lloyd!" Kratos exclaimed as the boy dashed between his legs faster than he could blink, ripping off clothes along the way, until he once again wearing nothing but the diaper. Kratos groaned and picked up the discarded clothes. He had won the battle but it didn't look like he was going to win the war just yet.

XxX

"About time, what took you so long?" Genis asked as he Kratos came down the stairs, a kicking Lloyd underneath one arm.

"It seems our Lloyd has become an aspiring nudist" the swordsman sighed and set the protesting boy down, letting him run off to cause more havoc.

"Well, I need to get to school, I'm already going to be late." Genis hitched his bag over his shoulder and handed the older man a sheet of paper. "Could you pick these up at the market while I'm gone? We're really running low on groceries."

"I suppose it couldn't be too much of a hassle." Kratos tucked the list into his pocket, wondering if he could manage to find a leash for Lloyd at the market as well.

"Okay, thanks a lot." Genis waved good-bye to Lloyd and received an erratic hand waving motion from the boy in return as he bounced up and down on the couch. "Good luck Kratos."

"Hn, thanks." Kratos watched the boy leave forlornly, silently wishing that he would stay so he could help with the mass of pandemonium that was currently ruining their couch.

XxX

"Chicken, broccoli, salt, noodles…" Kratos checked off the items on the list he had already purchased. He never noticed how much food the group had consumed until now, and he was guessing it was about to go up from the way Lloyd was trying to grab anything in sight that was edible. "Lloyd, put that down." Kratos scolded as the boy tried to sneak another candy bar. "Where was I…pigs feet? I hope Genis doesn't expect me to eat that." The man frowned as he tried to figure out where he could purchase such a thing.

"Aaahh!" Lloyd whined and pulled on the ribbon that was tied around his wrist, which Kratos had tied to him after he tried to jump into a nearby fishing dock. It was the only way he could think of to keep the boy from getting lost and or injured. He did his best to ignore the strange looks being aimed towards himself and his leashed son.

"Just a few more minutes Lloyd." Kratos smiled down at the boy and offered him one candy bar to satisfy him. Though sugar probably was not the smartest thing to be giving the boy, he had to do something to make up for dragging him around town all morning.

Paying for the last of the groceries, and deciding to bypass the pig's feet for now, Kratos gathered up his bags and began heading out of the business district.

"No!" Lloyd exclaimed as after they'd made some progress, crossing his arms and standing his ground. Kratos sighed. 'No' seemed to be the only word the boy knew so far.

"Alright, come on." Kratos heaved the boy over one shoulder, not in the mood to argue with the toddler just now. The sooner he could get home and keep the child contained in the house, the better.

"Nonononono!!" Lloyd screamed and carried on, Kratos grunted as the boy bit his shoulder for the fifth time, and seriously began to consider the purchase of a muzzle.

XxX

"Kratos, you're home! I was starting to worry when I got home and no one was here…" Colette trailed off as she noticed the young boy hauled over the man's shoulder. "Who's that?"

"Colette, glad to see you're feeling better," Kratos spoke slowly, remembering vaguely that she was supposed to come home from the hospital today and feeling slightly guilty for not being there to pick her up. He supposed he had an excuse for being distracted lately though. There was also the small problem of Colette missing a few little details while she was gone. "There was an unfortunate accident."

"Accident?" Colette clasped her hand's together, a worried expression on her face. "Is everyone alright? Where's Lloyd? And Professor Raine?"

"They're both fine, Lloyd's right here." Kratos set the boy down, amazed that he hadn't started running around the room like before. Instead the boy was blinking up at Colette shyly, like many children did in the presence of a stranger.

"Lloyd?" Collete approached the boy slowly, who inched behind his father's leg as she did. "Is it really you?" The boy jumped away as she tried to inspect him closer.

"That's strange, he's not usually this shy," Kratos observed as he tilted his head down to see the boy loop an arm around his leg, sticking a thumb in his mouth a moment later.

"Lloyd, its me Colette, your friend!" Colette pleaded and tried to reach out for the boy, who screamed and ran off as she did so.

"…Perhaps I should explain what happened."

XxX

After Kratos had explained the bizarre story to the girl, and she had gotten over her initial shock, they sat at the kitchen table, waiting for Genis to get home from school. "Do you think he'll be back to normal soon?" Colette finally asked, who had been sitting quietly at the table for awhile now.

"Most likely. If the effects don't wear off soon, I'm sure Raine will find a cure."

"I hope so…" Colette sighed, "He doesn't really seem to like me much." She glanced over at the boy only to see him flinch and cover himself with a couch pillow.

"As far as I can tell he has no recollection of anything before the transformation. He may just be wary because he doesn't know you yet."

"He has to go back to normal…he just has to," she whispered, looking incredibly troubled.

"Don't worry Colette, I'm sure everything will turn out fine." Kratos tried to consol the girl, but was having mixed feelings himself. Lloyd was a hyper, disobedient little brat from what little experience had with him thus far. But, he was getting to have that experience, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to give that up just yet. Maybe he didn't want Lloyd to go back to normal, as selfish as that might be.

"Yeah, thanks Kratos," Colette smiled, studying the older man for a moment before speaking again. "Um…is that a candy wrapper in you hair?" Kratos blinked and reached up to find a crinkling piece of plastic tangled in his hair, grimacing at the mystery stick still lingering on it.

Perhaps Lloyd turning back to his older form quickly wasn't a bad idea, either.


	4. chapter 4

XxX

"It looks like he's gotten bigger again," Genis observed as he watched Kratos come down the stairs. Lloyd was holding onto one of his hands while rubbing at his eyes blearily. "And he's actually not bouncing off the walls?"

"He's probably just tired from all the activity yesterday." Kratos took a seat across from the half-elf at the kitchen table. A mini Lloyd climbed into the seat next to him to whine for some cereal.

"How old do you think he looks now? Maybe three?" Genis wondered out loud to himself, while fetching a bowl and some milk for the boy. "That means, in a few weeks, he should be back to his normal age."

"Perhaps, but we can't really say for sure."

"Yeah, I hope Raine can find a cure. I'd be really embarrassed if she didn't." Genis scratched his head and handed Lloyd a spoon, playing the part of the good older brother. Or maybe a housewife.

"Hello? Everyone?" They heard a feminine voice call trough the front door, and it sounded like she was having a bit of a hard time getting into the house.

"Speak of the devil!" Genis grinned and wiped up some milk off Lloyd's chin with a paper towel.

"Back so soon?" Kratos questioned as he went to the front door, trying to help Raine with the many bags she had with her. "What is all this? Umf!" The air was forced out of him as Raine hurled a very thick book towards his arms, missing just slightly and hitting him in the stomach instead.

"Sorry." Raine rushed out before looking back over her shoulder, calling off to someone in the distance. "Is everything alright back there?"

"It would be if this idiot would make himself useful for once!" Another woman called back, sounding like she was in the middle of a struggle.

"Hey, I…" the man who was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of the woman's rage was cut off as he was currently being bombarded with luggage.

"Sheena? Zelos?" Colette peeked out the doorway to see two of her former companions. Sheena waved as she kept her arm around a piece of machinery, something that looked like a piece of lab equipment.

"Hey guys! Long time no see. Kratos, can you take this?" Sheena walked trough door and deposited her heavy burden on the man without waiting for a response. "Thanks!"

"No problem." Kratos mumbled and shifted around the equipment along with the bags Raine had already shoved on him as he tried to find a safe place to set them down.

"I missed you!" Colette pulled her into a warm hug that turned out to be more painful than anything, if Sheena's whimpers were any indication. "Uh, sorry, guess I don't know my own strength." Colette giggled sheepishly, a noise so contradictory to the inhuman strength she seemed to posses.

"Eh, don't worry about it. It's not your fault." Sheena smiled, absently rubbing a bruised arm.

"I can't believe you only dragged me here to be used for manual labor!" Zelos complained as he made his way through the door, weighed down with yet more junk that Raine had seen fit to take from Tethe'alla. "Hey, do something with this, kay?" Zelos deposited his load on Kratos who was still standing dumbly by the door.

"So where's Lloyd?" Sheena looked around the room curiously, "Raine told me that there was something wrong with him, but she didn't seem to want to go into details."

"Oh, he's right here!" Genis perked up from his spot at the kitchen table, where he was tying a bib around a small boy in order to keep him from making more of a mess than he already had.

"But that's a little kid!" Zelos exclaimed as himself and Sheena stepped in closer to get a better look.

"It can't be…" Sheena trailed off as familiar brown eyes blinked up at her in a curious manner. "Is it really you Lloyd?"

"Raine had a little accident with one of her potions and Lloyd just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Genis tried to fill them in, slightly amused at the shocked expression on both of their faces.

"Oh…how unfortunate." Sheena frowned.

"Yeah…real unfortunate." Zelos seemed to be desperately holding back laughter as he loomed over a tiny Lloyd. "Fear me for I am a big tall giant man! Mwhahaha."

"Zelos!" Sheena shouted and shooed the idiot away from Lloyd before he got scared away. "Aww, but he's so cute!" Sheena beamed as she hoisted up the surprised boy in her arms.

"Isn't he?" Colette cooed as they both fused over the boy and Zelos sighed miserably at the display.

"Even when he's still in diapers he has to get all the attention?"

"I think he likes you!" Colette exclaimed, as Lloyd seemed to have his attention focused solely on Sheena. Or at least…something on the woman was fascinating to him, since he wasn't exactly looking at her in the face.

"Heh, I've always been good with…kids." Sheena deadpanned at the end of the sentence, looking down at Lloyd with a horrified expression on her face. Colette was a bit confused for a second before she let he gaze travel downwards.

"Oh my…" she gasped and covered her mouth. Zelos picked his head up from his current sulking to raise an eyebrow at the two women, and the young boy between them. Who currently had a tiny hand latched onto Sheena's right breast, giving it an experimental squeeze.

"Hm, a kid after my own heart!" Zelos grinned when Sheena turned to yell at him, but she only succeeding in blushing and sputtering like an idiot. "At least he didn't make honking noises." Zelos shrugged as Sheena shook her head and pulled Lloyd's hand away, trying to explain to the naïve youth not to do that again.

"Ah, give the kid here." Zelos pulled the boy in his arms and ruffled his hair playfully. "Stop trying to move in on my woman, okay kid?" Lloyd blinked up at the man for a moment before sinking his teeth into the arm that held him.

"Serves you right. I'm not your woman." Sheena crossed her arms and smirked as Zelos whimpered at the fresh bite mark.

"Little brat. "Zelos glared at the kid in his arms only to have his hair pulled on harshly a second later. "Ow!"

XxX

Things had finally calmed down once Raine and Kratos had managed to get all the equipment she had brought downstairs to the lab. Genis was currently working on making some lunch and had everyone rounded up at the kitchen table.

"Is all this stuff really necessary? And why did you have to come back here to study it?" Kratos rubbed the spot on his lower back that was staring to become sore from all the heavy lifting.

"Of course it is. And I think it's better to work on a antidote here, where I can study the specimen, er, I mean Lloyd, personally." Raine explained, closing the door to the basement once they had finished their work.

"I suppose that makes sense. But why bring them along?" Kratos gestured over to the female summoner and the playboy who were sitting at the kitchen table, chatting amiably with Colette.

"I needed help getting all the equipment here." Raine shrugged, "Besides, it's been awhile since their last visit."

"Hmph." Kratos scowled, but said nothing more. Sheena was tolerable for the most part, but Zelos could get to be more than a little irritating and Kratos needed more stress now like he needed a hole in the head.

"Lloyd, get away from the stove! You're going to get burned!" Genis scolded and waved a spoon in the boy's face.

"What's for lunch Genis?" Colette turned to ask.

"Beef Stew! Lloyd! What did I say!" Genis groaned as the boy began crawling through his legs, getting dangerously close to the surface of the hot stove. "Get away!" He tried to shoo the boy, but Lloyd only clung to his leg stubbornly.

"Oh just let him touch the stove already. He'll learn real quick to stay away." Zelos grinned as Genis's face paled.

"You're evil!" Genis exclaimed, trying to inch Lloyd slowly away from the spot where Zelos was sitting.

"Am not! You just need to learn to train the kid, otherwise he's going to be a brat forever. Just like you."

"At least it's better than being a pervert!" Genis snapped back, tossing a dinner roll at Zelos's head.

"Hey! That was uncalled for!"

"Now now children, behave." Kratos sighed as he finally took a seat at the table, pulling a protesting Lloyd into his lap as he did so. Genis placed a pot of stew on the table and the group ate in relative silence after that. Raine had come up from the basement after some time and sat down to eat as well.

"Kratos, there seemed to be a great deal of monsters surrounding the city," Raine commented. Kratos froze for a moment, remembering that he hadn't gone on patrol last night. He felt awful for putting the villagers in danger, but it really couldn't be helped right now.

"I've been busy."

"I know, but someone should take care of it. I'll be busy in the lab, and Colette is still recovering from her illness so…" Raine trailed off and glanced up at something, or someone, on the other side of the table.

"Eh…I don't like that look," Sheena sighed as she realized where the older woman's attention was focused. "Fine, I guess I could go do some monster killing. It's been awhile since I had a good fight." Sheena smiled and went about finishing her meal, wanting to be at full strength for this evening.

"I appreciate it." Kratos said while feeding Lloyd a spoonful of the stew.

"It's not a problem. It'll probably be lots of fun! Right Zelos?"

"Um, since when am I included in this?"

"Don't be so lazy!"

"It's not like you can't handle your own! You don't need me."

"I'd feel more comfortable if you accompanied her," Kratos commented and Sheena went back to finishing her meal, not feeling like arguing with the idiot anymore, especially when she now had backup to do that for her.

"Do you really believe that, or do you just want me out of here?" Zelos leered skeptically over at the man.

"Perhaps a little of both."

"Fine, fine, I know when I'm not wanted." Zelos groaned and began to clean his plate into the garbage, just as Sheena began to do the same.

"Do you now?" Sheena placed her hands on her hips, shooting him a unconvinced look. "Cause I could have sworn I've been putting of the 'not wanting' vibe the whole time I've known you."

"That's not 'not wanting', that's just pure denial." Zelos tossed his plate into the sink full of soapy water only to dodge a blow to the head a second later.


	5. chapter 5

"Lloyd…put that down," Kratos started, in what seemed to be becoming the standard mantra whenever he was addressing his son. "Lloyd…" the older man sighed and tried to reach for the blonde doll that the boy was currently preoccupied with. "That's not yours, it's Colette's."

"Mine!" Lloyd announced and clutched the doll protectively to his chest. Kratos groaned at that. The boy has suddenly become very attached to the old thing, and while Colette didn't seem to mind at all, it was beginning to get a little disturbing for him.

"But wouldn't you rather play with…this!" Kratos smiled as he pulled out his trump card, a little something that he had picked up at the market yesterday, just incase a situation like this should arise. "It's Turbo Action Man 2000, isn't he cool?" Kratos tried to persuade the boy, making use of the toy's kung fu action grip for show. Lloyd eyed the toy skeptically for a moment before he returned to combing out the doll's slightly knotted hair.

"He's stoopid…" Lloyd declared his final verdict and Kratos lowered the action figure dejectedly.

"Oh, hi guys." Colette was a bit surprised to find Kratos and Lloyd in her room, but was cheerful as always. "Aw, Lloyd, do you like Betsy?" The blonde smiled and sat down next to the boy on the bed.

"Yeah!" Lloyd beamed and hugged the doll tighter.

"Oh, we should have a tea party with her! Would you like that?" Colette suggested brightly and Lloyd nodded his head rapidly. Kratos shook his head as he watched the girl set up everything on the table, and got up to leave, figuring he was fighting a losing battle by now anyway.

XxX

Downstairs, Sheena and Zelos had come back from patrol. Zelos was currently whining about some injuries, trying to get sympathy from Raine. "Come on! You're the healer here! Help a guy out!"

"Shut up, that last time I agreed to help you tried to grab my…"

"You touched mine first!"

"Because you were hurt! You idiot…" Raine huffed and went back to reading whatever oversized book she had in front of her.

"Can we keep the yelling to a minimum please? My head his killing me," Sheena whimpered and searched trough the freezer for an ice pack, but was silently thankful for not being the one subjected to Zelos' raging hormones for a moment. She pushed back a few things in her search, yelping as something heavy slid out of the freezer and landed on the floor with a thud. Genis perked his head up at the sound, looking down at the kitchen floor to see a large package of meat that had split open and gotten all dirty.

"Sheena…" Genis moaned out, "That was supposed to be dinner."

"Sorry, it was an accident…" Sheena bit her lip as the boy came over to survey the damage.

"Well, you should be more careful next time." Genis scolded and began cleaning up the mess, sending the woman little glares whenever he got a chance.

"I said I was sorry!" Sheena huffed as she picked up on the annoyance in Genis's voice.

"I heard you, you could at least help me clean up!" Genis shot back, finally allowing his aggravation to show.

"Hey, don't get so snippy!"

"I'm not being snippy, it's just that…" Kratos groaned as he listened to Genis and Sheena engage in the ridiculous argument. Meanwhile, Zelos was still whining about the pain to which Raine had finally lost her temper and popped him one on the head with a rolled up newspaper. This was a scene that Kratos was really beginning to regret walking in on.

"Hey!" he shouted, but wasn't heard over the voices of the four who were already carrying on like lunatics. "All of you, stop it!" he tried a bit forcefully this time, satisfied with the fact that they had all finally shut up and now had their attention focused on him. "Look at yourselves! You're all acting more immature than Lloyd! Zelos, suck it up and heal yourself if it's that bad! Sheena, take a goddamn aspirin! Genis, get over it already, we'll order pizza…and Raine…" Kratos turned to Raine who was looking up at him in an amused manner. "Read…some more." It was a lame ending, but whatever, he had ran out of steam.

"Um…are you feeling alright?" the woman asked, not used to seeing Kratos lose his temper like that.

"Just…a little stressed."

"I can see that." Raine closed the book she was reading, the rest of the group already gone silent in fear of a pissed off Kratos. "Why don't you go upstairs and rest? You look like you haven't slept for days."

"But Lloyd…"

"Don't worry about it, I'll look after him." Kratos wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to leave his son in the hands of a women who might half beat him to death if he acted up, but in the end his desire for sleep won out.

"Alright, just give me a few hours." And with that Kratos somehow made his way back up to his room, threw a pillow over his head, and passed out contently.

XxX

Downstairs, the rest of the group were looking just about as pathetic as the passed out Kratos. Sheena had long since declared that she had a horrible migraine and sought refuge on the couch, warning that anyone who came near her would suffer painful consequences. Zelos, who liked to push the women's buttons almost enough to call it a hobby, decided that it really wasn't worth it this time, and sat twiddling his fingers at the kitchen table. He had to restrain himself from breaking into hysterical laughter when Genis slipped on some water and fell to the ground, instead settling for a goofy lopsided grin as he watched Raine patch him up.

"It looks like you might have twisted your ankle…" Raine sighed as she surveyed the damage, wrapping up the limb properly before ordering the boy to go lay down and rest for a while. Genis whimpered and limped onto the loveseat opposite of Sheens'a couch. The smaller piece of furniture was just big enough to support his petite frame comfortably.

"We're dropping like flies…I knew I shouldn't have come here," Zelos sighed and glanced over his shoulder at the two incapacitated figures. He turned back to the woman sitting across from him and tired to use the most alluring tone he could muster. "Looks like it's just you and me. Shall we fornicate now?"

"Love to," Raine rolled her eyes sarcastically, "But it seems you have made a miscalculation." She gestured over to Lloyd, who was currently trying to ride Noishe around like a horse, before the animal shrugged him off and ran away to find a suitable hiding space.

"Dammit Lloyd, do you have to ruin everything?" Zelos groaned and Raine grinned as she began gathering up some books that were littering the kitchen table.

"Well, I'm off to do some researching. Be a dear and watch Lloyd for me?" Raine rushed out before she made her way to the basement in a flash, locking the door behind her before Zelos could protest.

"Hey!" He glared at the wooden door for a moment before sighing and looking down at his new burden. Lloyd blinked up at him for a moment from his spot at the kitchen floor before sticking out his tongue and giggling like a maniac. "Brat…ow!" Zelos hissed as the boy gave him a rather sharp kick to the shin and ran off a second later to find something else to do. "Well, this should be fun."


	6. chapter 6

Satanic Mechanic: Sixth chapter finally up! Like, a year after the fifth. Anyway I'm continuing this because for some reason my brain has allowed it, and I noticed there are still some people who have this on their alerts.

I've also gone through and edited the previous chapters. Nothing major, but I corrected some mistakes, changed around some wording, and added in some stuff here and there.

I've got a lot of fresh ideas for this fic, so hopefully it can finally be completed. I think it deserves it. Wish me luck!

XxX

Zelos had long since given up on trying to keep the beast—or Lloyd as most people called him—confined in the house and began making plans for an escape. The boy had already been bouncing off the walls and managed to bump into Genis's swollen ankle as he did so, sending the older boy into hysterical yelping. So before the kid could cause any other bodily harm, Zelos sat him down on a wooden chair. Looking down at the boy sternly, and ignoring big innocent eyes that blinked up at him in a confusion, Zelos began his lecture.

"Listen kid, I know you must be bored as hell but you need to settle down."

"NO!" Lloyd declared and tried to hop off the chair but Zelos caught him and sat him back down. Seemed like this wouldn't be as easy as he thought.

"Alright, let's make a deal. You act like a normal child, and I'll take you to the park, okay?" Zelos tried to persuade him but Lloyd seemed to be more preoccupied with something on the man's face. "Hey, you got enough brain power yet to handle that proposition or…" the redhead blinked as the boy poked him on the nose and broke into hysterical laughter a second later. "I guess not," Zelos sighed and grabbed a pair of small shoes and struggled to keep Lloyd's legs still as he slipped the tiny feet into them.

"Ew…hate these," Lloyd complained and tried to wiggle his way out of the devices.

"The hunnies are never going to look your way if you run around barefoot. Come on now bud, it's like you've learned nothing from me. Okay, now here comes the tricky part," Zelos grabbed the laces and looked up to make sure Lloyd was paying attention, at least, paying as much attention as a hyper active 4-year-old could. "Alright, you loop the first string around your finger and then pull the other one through like this, see?" Zelos demonstrated slowly and pulled the bow into a nice tight knot.

"This is booooring."

"Just humor me, m'kay?" Zelos grinned, "Here, do the other one yourself."

"But…that's too hard." Lloyd scrunched up his face and glared down at his unlaced shoe in confusion.

"Nah, it's not that bad."

"…you show me again?" Lloyd kicked his one foot forwards, which almost resulted in Zelos getting this teeth kicked in.

"Give it a try first. You need to learn this stuff you know. I know you think your dad is going to be around forever but sometimes parents don't always stick around…" Zelos trailed off glumly, Lloyd already being completely lost on what he was talking about. "Look, never mind. You can practice later." Zelos tied up the other shoe and Lloyd jumped off of the chair in delight, looking down at his feet in evaluation. "Lookin' sharp," Zelos winked and Lloyd headed for the door excitedly.

"Where are you guys going?" Genis managed to mumble in his half-asleep state, rolling over and giving Zelos a wary look.

"Just outside, it's probably a better place for the kid to burn off his energy than in here."

"Good luck," Genis snickered as he recalled the sort of state Kratos had been in last time he tried to bring Lloyd out in public.

"Just be careful. Kratos will have your head if anything happens to him, you know?" Sheena added her two cents and Zelos waved her off dismissively.

"Yeah yeah, it's cool." Zelos turned towards the door only to find it left ajar. "Eh…Lloyd?" he glanced around but there was no sign of the boy. "Aw shit, I can't believe this!" Zelos exclaimed and rushed out the door and into the busy street outside. "Lloyd?!" he began panicking when he didn't spot him nearby, trying not to imagine the many horrible ways Kratos could inflict certain death upon him.

Zelos' spirits lifted as he ran by an item shop, stopping dead in his tracks he spotted a familiar messy mane of brown hair. He fought his way through the city crowd and found Lloyd standing in front one of the open market stands, drooling over some candy.

"Oh, thank god," Zelos sighed and grabbed a hold Lloyd's waist, hoisting him up into his arms. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Zelos's original relief was replaced with anger as he reprimanded the boy. "Christ, I swear if you pull something like that again I'll…" Zelos watched in horror as the boy's eye's filled up with tears, "Oh no, no no no, don't do that…" he groaned as the boy began wailing and causing a scene in front of the shop. He barely knew how to handle a crying women, never mind a crying child!

"Come on…where's the off button on this thing?" Zelos whined as the boy continued to sob and carry on. "Look, Lloyd," he grabbed one of the bars of candy Lloyd had been ogling earlier and held it up to the boy's face. "Mmm, chocolate!"

"Hn…mm?" Lloyd sniffed and wiped his eyes, immediately brightening at the sight of sugar.

"Thaaat's a good boy." Zelos cheered internally as his tactic proved to be successful and Lloyd began nibbling on the chocolate bar contently.

"Mm, thanks!" Lloyd cooed as Zelos paid for the candy, keeping a solid grip on the boy's wrist the whole time in fear that he might run away again.

"Oh, it has manners. I'm surprised."

"Chocolate!" Lloyd cried again as he began licking his fingers, the chocolate now beginning to melt in the hot sun an making a mess.

"You have a one track mind, you know that? But I guess I really shouldn't talk," Zelos chuckled to himself and watched as the boy devoured the rather large bar quicker than anything his size should have been able to. He grabbed some napkins and attempted to clean the boy up a bit, stepping back a few seconds later to admire his work.

"Hehe…he's so cute." Zelos blinked as he heard a feminine voice coo from behind him before turning around.

"Well, thanks for noticing," he grinned at the two young women who were whispering behind him.

"I meant your son, but you're not bad yourself," the taller of the two smiled slyly and her friend whispered something in her ear before giggling again.

"Oh, well he's not…" Zelos trailed off as he noticed the adoring look in the two girls eyes as they looked down at the mini Lloyd. "I mean…of course he's cute! He's my kid after all," he stated proudly and ruffled the kid's hair in an affectionate manner.

"And how hard it must be for you to have to raise a child on your own like that," the girl sympathized.

"Oh yeah, it's a lot of work," Zelos gave his best labored sigh, "but I manage…somehow."

"You poor man," the girl continued to offer her grievances and Zelos managed to convince her to meet him for drinks later on tonight. After saying their goodbyes the two girls left and Zelos turned to beam down and Lloyd, who was still licking off the remainder of the melted chocolate off his fingertips.

"I knew it, beautiful girls really do just gather around you!" he exclaimed and Lloyd blinked up at him in a confused manner. "Anyway, so you still up for the park?"

"Yeah!" Lloyd cheered and Zelos took him by the hand and lead the way. A wry smile stretched across his face as the local park came into view. It appeared the all-girls school they had built just a few years ago was having some sort of field day, because the place was teaming with dozens of young girls, all dressed in precariously short school uniforms. Zelos pondered his plan of action before he decided which group of hunnies to approach first, grateful for the fact that he now had a secret weapon. A mini-sized secret weapon to be exact.

"I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful new friendship," Zelos remarked to Lloyd, who was already busy picking up dandelions and tossing them in the air like they were confetti.

XxX

"How could you let them go off on their own like that!" Kratos grumbled, having woken up from his nap only to find Lloyd missing. "Zelos is not nearly responsible enough to take care of a child."

"Give him a little more credit than that," Sheena sighed, though she wondered why she opted to stick up for the pervert at all. It was just something she did once in awhile. "Lloyd needed to get out of the house, anyway. He was really hyper this morning."

"Hn," voicing his disapproval with a grunt, Kratos turned and walked into the kitchen. Maybe some coffee would wake him up and give him the energy to rebuke Zelos when they got home. Well, he had to admit he was grateful for the break, but he was still worried. If Lloyd came home with so much as a scratch on him Kratos would…

"Hey, we're back!" Zelos shouted as he stepped through the door, almost as if on cue, and a happy looking Lloyd was latched onto his arm. "Oh, you're awake. How wonderful for all of us," Zelos remarked sarcastically as Kratos walked over to them silently.

"Hm, he seems to be intact," Kratos remarked as he examined his son, counted ten fingers and ten toes, and Lloyd giggled as the seraph poked him in the stomach.

"Did you expect anything less? We had a great time!" Lloyd nodded enthusiastically as if to back up this statement.

"Whatever you say," Kratos shrugged and went back to the kitchen to finish his coffee.

"Ugh, what a long day," Zelos sighed as he took a seat on the couch and Sheena glared at him as he interrupted her nap. Lloyd followed a few seconds later, mimicking the way Zelos folded one leg over the other.

"Heh, he seems to like you a lot better now," Sheena remarked with a smile as she watched Lloyd mimic the redhead's every move. From the kitchen, a pair of narrowed dark eyes watched them discreetly.

"What can I say? People just naturally feel the urge to admire me," the Chosen spoke with mock modesty, shaking his head as if it were the greatest burden he could endure. "Ah, that reminds me," reaching into one of his pockets, he pulled out several pieces of stray paper, "gotta remember to file these away."

"What's that?" Sheena leaned forward to get a peek at the papers, her features sinking into a disbelieving frown as she realized what she was looking at. She wondered how she could even be surprised after all this time. "Phone numbers? You were picking up girls while you were supposed to be baby-sitting? That's low, even for you," she huffed and leaned back against the couch with her arms crossed.

"Well anything sounds bad when you say it with that attitude! Nah, see, Lloyd had fun too. I bet you it was a relief compared the company he usually keeps," Zelos added purposely as he watched Kratos approach them.

"That's enough. Lloyd, it's time for your bath," reaching out for the boy, Kratos blinked as he quickly squirmed out of reach, scrambling behind Zelos for protection.

"Yeah, go. You smell," sticking out his tongue childishly, Zelos tried to pry the boy from his side but to no avail. Sighing he looked back up at Kratos—who was looming over the couch with his arms crossed—and shrugged. "I tried."

"Humph," not one to be so easily thwarted, Kratos leaned over again only to have his arm kicked away by the protesting child. "Lloyd, stop that! Let's go."

"No! Wanna stay with Zeros!" Lloyd shouted, and despite his difficulties in pronouncing the name, the message was clear.

"Ah, so the truth comes out. The kid has good taste," Zelos grinned but something in Kratos' stern gaze faltered.

"Fine. He's free to do what he wants," with that Kratos turned to storm back into the kitchen to start on the dishes. Zelos winched as pots and pans were clanked together with a little more force than necessary.

"Jeez…what was that all about?" he turned to Sheena, who had watched the whole exchange.

"You idiot. It's obvious he already feels bad at this, you don't have to make it worse," she scolded and went upstairs. Zelos turned to Lloyd, who seemed unfazed but obviously growing bored with the adult's problems.

"Thanks for getting me in trouble."

"You're welcome!" Lloyd exclaimed, having already gotten a lecture from Kratos about the rules of 'please' 'thank you' and 'you're welcome', and was thrilled to be able to show off his skills to his new idol.

"No, listen. I was being sarcastic," Zelos rolled his eyes and put a fist to his chin as he slouched over. "It's not like I'm intentionally trying to hurt anyone. Hn. What the hell do they want from me?"

"Play tag?" Lloyd's solution was pretty simple, and Zelos sighed.

"Yeah, okay, whatever. You're it."

Lloyd continued to follow Zelos around for the rest of the day. Even after about an hour of tag, about ten games of hide and seek, and one disastrous round of 'pin the tail on Noishe'. Kratos was conspicuously missing for the evening, though it was clear when he came home that he had resumed his monster slaying duties. The rest of the group seemed perfectly content to let Zelos entertain Lloyd all day, and he was starting to figure out why.

"Listen brat, you're lucky I'm letting you share my bed in the first place. Now settle in already and go to sleep."

"No! The monsters will eat me!" Lloyd shouted in between sobs, and the exhausted Chosen sighed.

"There's nothing here! I've already checked under the bed at least ten times, bolted up the closet, and got you a night light." Zelos groaned and rubbed at his face in pure agitation as the child began crying louder. "What more do you want from me?" he pleaded, ready to start bargaining if that's what it was going to take to get him some sleep.

"I want Daddy!" the boy shrieked and trailed off into tears again, burying his red face deeper into a pillow.

"Alright, alright! One monster exterminator, coming right up," Zelos groaned and made his way to the door. Kratos was really not going to be happy about being woken up at this hour.

"What do you want?" the predictably annoyed man grumbled from his doorway.

"Your brat won't shut up and go to sleep. He keeps complaining about monsters."

"That's all?" Kratos snorted in a 'lol, you noob' sort of manner, and shoved Zelos out of the way. The Chosen huffed as he followed the man into his bedroom.

"D…daddy?" Lloyd sniffed as his father cast a shadow over him.

"That's right. What seems to be the problem here?" Kratos smiled and Lloyd's mood instantly calmed.

"It's those stupid monsters again. They keep bothering me. Will you stop them like you did that other time?" the boy asked meekly.

"I see. Good thing I brought this extremely powerful monster sealing charm," Lloyd shot up in his bed in order to get a peek at this treasure, but Kratos clutched it to himself quickly. "No, you can't look at it. It looses its effectiveness," the boy gasped and pulled the sheet up to his chin again, but it was clear he was more excited than fearful this time.

"Oh please…" Zelos rolled his eyes at the display. This couldn't be serious. Were all kids this gullible? Kratos shot a quick glare his way before kneeling down on the floor. With a flick of his wrist he had cast the imaginary charm into the depths underneath Zelos' bed.

"That should do it," Kratos declared as he stood up. "Why don't you come back to my room now and I'll make warm milk to settle you."

"Kay!" Lloyd exclaimed and got out of bed to clutch at his father's hand.

"Oh Kratos, my hero," Zelos mock swooned. "Now that those monsters are taken care of, can I get some sleep too?"

"Goodnight, Zeros."

"Kratos…seriously, don't ever call me that again."


End file.
